A row over changing the software that produces bitcoins could split the virtual currency, core developers say.

So this is it. Here we are. The community is divided and Bitcoin is forking: both the software and, perhaps, the block chain too. The two sides of the split are Bitcoin Core and a slight variant of the same program, called Bitcoin XT. As of August 15th, there is now a full release available. Such a fork has never happened before. I want to explain things from the perspective of the Bitcoin XT developers: let it not be said there was insufficient communication.

The yuan dropped the most in two decades, sparking a tumble in Asian currencies after China devalued its exchange rate to combat an economic slowdown. The devaluation follows economic reports this month showing a plunge in Chinese exports.

A.B. 1326 (Dababneh) is a bill that would require “virtual currency businesses” to apply for and obtain a license in order to offer services in California, and it includes significant fees and administrative hurdles. Unfortunately, the bill’s language is so vague that it’s unclear what companies are, in fact, “virtual currency businesses.” So in spite of carve-outs for smaller companies and for software developers who don’t exercise control over the currency...

A Tokyo district court has ruled that bitcoins can't be "owned," bad news for locals hoping to claw back some of their Mt. Gox cash.

Bitcoin and other digital currencies will be treated the same way as traditional currencies under expected proposals from the Australian government, reports suggest. A Senate inquiry is set to overturn a ruling from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) from July 2014 that classified bitcoin as an "intangible asset" for Goods and Services Tax (GST) purposes, according to the Australian Financial Review, giving a much needed boost to local bitcoin businesses.

In the old days, criminals liked their ransom payments in briefcases full of unmarked bills. These days, there’s a new preferred method for hostage takers: the virtual currency Bitcoin. In a modern day version of a mob shakedown, hackers around the world have seized files on millions of computers, taken down public websites and even, in a few cases, threatened physical harm.

Will cash disappear? Many technology cheerleaders believe so, but as Rose Eveleth discovers, the truth is more complicated.

In October of last year Motherboard gained access to a massive, secretive Bitcoin mine housed within a repurposed factory in the Liaoning Province in rural northeast China.

It’s already past the halfway mark in 2015 and we thought it would be a good time to provide an overview of the trends that we’re seeing in Bitcoin this year. While the price of bitcoin is down 9% year-to-date, if you look below the surface it is clear that Bitcoin had a strong first half and is making great strides as digital money for people around the world and a payment network for innovation.

This is a new major version release, bringing both new features and bug fixes.

On Tuesday, the biggest Bitcoin transaction ever made was loaded on to the blockchain, the publicly viewable ledger that records every instance of the cryptocurrency changing hands. It was 999 kilobytes in size, taking up an entire packet of transaction data, or “block,” and when it went out, a user in the Bitcoin developer chatroom remarked, “RIP Bitcoin.”

If we look closely at block-chain [Bitcoin] technology, we discover that it’s friendlier to cops than it is to crooks.

French bank BNP Paribas says the technology underpinning bitcoin has the potential to make existing companies "redundant," a huge admission from one of the world's biggest banks. Analyst Johann Palychata writes in the company's magazine Quintessence that bitcoin's blockchain, the software that allows the digital currency to function, "should be considered as an invention like the steam or combustion engine," that has the potential to transform the world of finance and beyond.

Bitcoin offers a glimpse into the future of money — a purely digital form of money that is individual, private, global, and free (free as in speech, not as in beer). Bitcoin is often compared with the existing banking system, juxtaposing its futuristic capabilities with the slow, antiquated, and cumbersome world of wire transfers, checks, “banking hours,” and restrictions.

The year is 2018. After a rough Greek exit from the eurozone, economic malaise has spread to Italy, Portugal, Spain, and France. Nervous citizens across Europe look for a way to get their money out as currency traders hammer the weakening euro, banks impose withdrawal limits, and their purchasing power plummets. Enter Bitcoin.

Islamic State jihadists are getting ready to launch their own currency, it's claimed.

Obama administration officials are seeking advice nationwide on who to choose.

MovieTickets.com, one of the largest movie ticket purchasing platforms in the US, now enables movie-goers to buy movie tickets with bitcoin at 985 theaters. The move was made possible through an integration with bitcoin payment processor GoCoin. As a result, theater chains that use the credit card processing services offered by MovieTickets.com will be able to accept bitcoin for any film offered.